Tyson gets bout purse, avoids punishment for late blow

Nevada boxing regulators decided Friday not to punish Tyson for hitting Orlin Norris after the bell in the first round of their aborted fight, voting unanimously to release the $8.7 million purse they had been holding since the fight.

But commissioners warned that Tyson will have a tough time getting a new boxing license when his expires Dec. 31, and suggested he to find another place to fight.

"My advice is to pack Mike Tyson's bags up and take this act on the road," commissioner Lorenzo Fertitta said. "I'm not so sure we need him in the state of Nevada any longer."

Clearly frustrated at having to deal with Tyson outside the ring once more, commissioners spent little time at the 30-minute hearing going over the circumstances surrounding the premature ending of last Saturday's fight between Tyson and Norris.

Instead, they tried to send a message that Nevada would not tolerate rules being broken in the ring.

"We're not prepared to have any hoodlums fight in the state of Nevada," commission chairman Dr. Elias Ghanem said.

Tyson did not appear at the hearing, which was in sharp contrast to the lengthy proceedings a year ago that won him the right to box again after being banned from the sport for biting Evander Holyfield's ears.

Promoter Dan Goossen told commissioners that he also thought it was a good idea for Tyson to fight elsewhere, at least for awhile. Goossen said plans were underway to do just that, even before the latest incident.

"We were looking to take Mike out of the state of Nevada and go other places including out of the country," Goossen said. "Those plans are still on the table."

Tyson tentatively is scheduled to fight Shannon Briggs Feb. 26 at Madison Square Garden. He also may fight before that, possibly on Dec. 11, against an unnamed opponent.

Tyson's handlers are reportedly also trying to arrange a fight in England or Germany.

At Friday's hearing, The Nevada Athletic Commission upheld referee Richard Steele's action of deducting two points from Tyson as the sole punishment for hitting Norris after the bell at the end of the first round of the fight.

Norris fell, dislocated his knee and was unable to continue.

Commissioners could have fined Tyson or they could have changed the decision from a no contest to a disqualification.

"Unfortunately on occasion boxers get hit after the bell," Tyson manager Shelly Finkel said later. "Mike is pleased to put this ordeal behind him."

Tyson's boxing license in Nevada expires Dec. 31, and commissioners warned Tyson's representatives that he will have a difficult time getting licensed again. They suggested he have some fights elsewhere to show he can learn to obey the rules of the ring.

"He particularly seems to have trouble right at the end of the round," commissioner James Nave said.

Ghanem said the commission was worried about Tyson's actions both against Norris and in January when he twisted Francois Botha's arm at the end of the first round of their fight.

"We're going to watch him closely," Ghanem said. "But I don't think he'll ask to fight here for a while."

Steele's ruling in the ring that the left hook that dropped Norris after the bell sounded was not deliberate was the key factor in Tyson avoiding any penalties for the late blow, which ended the fight when Norris dislocated his knee on the way down to the canvas.

"He made the call right there and the call was appropriate," commissioner Glen Carano said.

Commissioners voted 4-0 to give Tyson back the $8.7 million purse that was withheld when the fight ended in confusion after Norris could not go on. Norris got his $201,000 purse the night of the fight.

Tyson attorney Jim Jimmerson noted that no other fights had been disciplined outside the ring for hitting after the bell. He brought up Felix Trinidad as an example, noting Trinidad hit Oscar De La Hoya after the bell twice during their welterweight unification bout and was not even penalized.

"It was the heat of the moment, the intensity of the moment," Jimmerson said.

Tyson said after the fight that he did not hear the bell, even though it rang five times as Steele moved in to try and separate the fighters in the middle of the ring.